NEW ORLEANS -- Oil giant BP says it has agreed to pay $4.5 billion in a wide-ranging settlement with the U.S. government over the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The London-based multinational company said in a statement Thursday it agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges including 11 felony counts of misconduct related to the deaths of 11 men in the rig explosion that triggered the oil spill. It also agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of obstruction of Congress.

The settlement total of $4.5 billion over five years includes nearly $1.3 billion in criminal fines -- the largest such penalty ever -- along with payments to several government agencies.

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